So it’s been quite a while since I’ve created a post for the blog and it’s been even longer (almost 2 years!) since I posted a financial update. You can read the last post I wrote at the beginning of 2019 titled “Student Loan Progress.”

For those of you new to the blog, a big part of my intentional living journey is becoming financially independent. Both my husband and I graduated college with multiple six figures in student loan debt. You can read more about my story on the “About” page.

The last time I wrote about student loans I was in the midst of refinancing my last private student loan from a 15 year term to a 5 year term. We were also planning on paying off the hub’s private student loans as well. We did end up paying off his private student loans by the end of last summer (2019 how far ago it seems!). We then we put all of our extra money towards paying off my last private student loan and we just finished paying off that loan this August! In 1.5 years we were able to pay off over six figures in student loans and that was a huge relief! While we were unsure what would happen with our jobs during the pandemic (and while it definitely was rocky for awhile regarding odd schedules), we are so very grateful that we were able to continue working and pay down debt.

With that being said, the pandemic did change our financial course quite a bit. We ended up refinancing our house when rates fell which was unexpected and unplanned. Our original mortgage was 4.25% for 30 years and we had PMI (private mortgage insurance). We were able to refinance for 2.5% for 15 years and no PMI! That move alone will save us over $100k in interest alone over the course of the mortgage.

The other thing we did that was unexpected was to invest in a heat pump to save money on heating oil. The heat pump has really only raised our electric bill by ~$10 each month with constant use. It will be interesting to see how our electric bill and heating oil bill change over the course of the year and the potential savings we will accrue. During the winter it was not uncommon for us to spend ~$400+ per month on oil to heat the house, and I would never say that our house was comfortably warm.

As of the last update, our plan was to pay off all of our student loans, max out our 403b’s, then invest in our HSA’s. With federal student loan interest at 0% and student loan payments put on hold we’ve been able to increase our savings in the event we would be quaratined due to sickness. Right now the hubs is not currently paying on his federal loans. I stopped paying on my federal loans as well in the beginning as we put all of our extra money towards my private loan. I have since resumed the minimum required payments on my federal loans as is obligated to fulfill the contract of my employer student loan relief.

Although we still have six figures left in student loan debt, we ultimately made the decision to max out our 403b’s rather than wait another 2 years until student loans are paid off to bump up our contributions. Up until now we were only contributing 10%. Time in the market is most important, and there was some serious gains to be had during the downturn.

At the end of the year we will be taking that extra savings we’ve obtained by not paying on the hub’s student loans and put it towards some of his smaller loans. I will also be cashing in 40 hours of my vacation time that will also be put towards debt. This is the last year I will be able to do that, and without any vacations planned for next year 🙁 I might as well take advantage of the benefit offered to me!

One thing that I had planned to do this past year was to increase my income. I was very fortunate to obtain a signficant raise a few months ago despite the pandemic. The hubs received a promotion this spring, but he became a salaried employee and is not able to generate additional income with overtime. I also had a goal by the middle of last year to have a side hustle, however I have not done very well with this last one. I took quite a bit of time away from social media this year due to the pandemic and political climate and stepped away from life coaching. I was able to finish creating the intentional planner I’ve been dreaming of, but haven’t put it into production yet. Basically, I’ve just been taking it day by day, but am excited to get back into it!

I want to know what you’ve been up to during the pandemic – what you’ve struggled with and exceled at. Let me know what your hopes and plans are for the future below!